Lee Holmes discovered “supercharged” food after she was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease in 2006. Eager to find a drug-free solution, she became a keen food and health researcher and developed a diet regime that led to her full recovery. Her new cookbook, Supercharged Food, offers a wealth of satisfying gluten-, wheat-, dairy-, yeast- and sugar-free recipes, so you can dine on nutrient-rich and flavoursome foods, whatever your dietary requirements. Lee offers a large array of recipes for breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert, but here we’ve chosen snacks and quick meals to introduce new and fabulously good-for-you recipes into your eating plan so you can “supercharge your life”, as Lee puts it. Look for more of Lee’s recipes in each issue of WellBeing in her Quick Kitchen column (p114) or on her website www.superchargedfood.com.

 

Silky Smooth Almond Milk

Reassuringly simple, containing no animal hormones, antibiotics or chemicals found in regular cow’s milk, almond milk is a nutritious and fibre-rich non-dairy alternative. Almond milk will stay fresh in the fridge for up to six days. You can use it as a stand-in to create dairy-free dessert recipes, over cereal, in drinks and in baking. If almonds aren’t your thing, try substituting them with hazelnuts. Makes 550mL.

 

Ingredients

750mL filtered water, boiled, then cooled slightly

160g blanched or soaked almonds

Liquid stevia or stevia powder, to taste

 

Method

Put the water and almonds in a blender and whirl until smooth. Place a fine sieve over a jug and pour in the almond milk, reserving the almond pulp left in the sieve. Sweeten the almond milk with stevia to taste.

Transfer the liquid to a sterilised milk bottle, then cover and keep refrigerated.

The reserved almond pulp can be used to make icecream, desserts or spreads, or you can make more almond milk by adding the almond pulp to the blender with more water (this can be done up to three times). The almond pulp will keep in a sealed container in the fridge for up to three days.

 

Mini Frittatas With Tomato & Rocket

Deliciously simple, mini frittatas are protein-packed and nutrient-rich — after just a few bites you’ll feel ready to take on the world. Protein can help you get to that couldn’t-eat-another-bite feeling, giving you a no-gorge guarantee for breakfast and morning tea. These versatile breakfast bites are also a great lunchbox idea for kids, work a treat served cold for a light afternoon tea and make fabulous finger food. Makes 6.

 

Ingredients

1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

1 onion, chopped

6 organic eggs

3 tbsp Silky Smooth Almond Milk

6 vine-ripened cherry tomatoes, quartered

Handful rocket or English spinach leaves, chopped

 

Method

Preheat the oven to 175ºC. Grease a six-hole giant muffin tin (each hole 1 cup capacity).

Heat the olive oil in a frying pan and fry the onion over low heat until caramelised, about 8–10 minutes.

In a bowl, whisk together the eggs and almond milk, then stir in the tomatoes, rocket and caramelised onion. Season with sea salt and freshly ground pepper.

Divide the mixture among the muffin holes and bake for 20 minutes or until the frittatas are set. Allow to cool a little before removing from the tray and cooling on a wire rack.

Activated Sea Salt & Vinegar Almonds

Everyone who tries these almonds tells me they taste exactly like salt and vinegar chips, an old favourite of mine. They’ll kick your tastebuds in an intoxicating way and I can’t recommend them highly enough as a delicious and healthy in-between snack. Sprinkling them with a good splosh of apple cider vinegar before baking makes them a natural metabolism and immune system booster. Trick or treat? Definitely a treat! Makes 320g.

 

Ingredients

320g raw almond kernels

3 tbsp apple cider vinegar

2 tsp sea salt

 

Method

Soak the almonds overnight in a bowl of filtered water with ½ teaspoon of sea salt. This makes them super-easy to digest.

The next day, preheat the oven to 50ºC or as low as your oven will go. Drain and rinse the almonds, then dry them off well with paper towels.

Spread the almonds on a baking tray, then sprinkle them with the vinegar and sea salt. Bake for 5½ to 6 hours, or until golden brown, moving them around the tray every now and then with long-handled tongs so they toast evenly.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool. The almonds will keep in an airtight container for up to six months, or even a year.

 

Chilled Out Cucumber & Avocado Soup

Cucumbers are the perfect summer food, refreshing and mellow, sweet and perfectly light. Even nibbling on them as a snack is a powerful thirst quencher. Combined with cholesterol-lowering avocado, they make this soup a green goddess, nutrient-rich powerhouse that pairs perfectly with summer fare. It’s so simple as there is no cooking involved and the best way to enjoy it is super-chilled. Leave it for as long as possible in the fridge to encourage the flavours to meld. From the very first spoonful, this soup will make your entire body say ahhhhhh. Serves 4.

 

Ingredients

1 small Lebanese cucumber

3 small avocadoes

1 handful coriander

¼ tsp ground cumin

1 tbsp lime juice

1 tsp sea salt

500mL chicken stock

2 spring onions, thinly sliced, to garnish

Mint leaves, to serve

 

Method

Peel the cucumber, cut in half lengthways and scrape out the seeds. Roughly chop the flesh and place in a blender.

Peel and dice the avocados and add to the blender. Add the coriander, cumin, lime juice, salt and a tablespoon or two of the stock.

Blend the mixture on high speed until puréed. Pour in the remaining stock and blend again until smooth. If necessary, add more stock or some filtered water to thin the soup.

Pour the soup into a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until well chilled.

When you’re ready to serve the soup, add sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Ladle into chilled soup bowls and serve garnished with the spring onion and some mint.

 

Coconut & Almond Bliss Balls

You can easily make these bliss balls the day before you need them. They will harden when you refrigerate them, so pull them out of the fridge about 30 minutes before you plan to serve them. Makes 14–16.

 

Ingredients

50g almond meal

30g coconut flakes

40g sesame seeds

125g chopped mixed nuts such as walnuts, cashews, pistachios

1 tbsp almond or cashew butter, softened

3 tbsp tahini

½ tsp natural vanilla extract

8 drops liquid stevia

Extra sesame seeds for coating

Extra chopped mixed nuts for coating

 

Method

Put the almond meal, coconut flakes, sesame seeds, nuts, nut butter, tahini, vanilla extract and stevia in a bowl and mix with a wooden spoon until combined.

Using your hands, take scant tablespoons of the mixture and roll each one into a ball. Roll half the balls in the sesame seeds and the other half in the chopped nuts, coating them all over.

Place the balls on a flat tray and refrigerate until party time.